Aljada will include smart transport, solar power, 5G and sustainable living

Developer Arada has announced plans to create one of the UAE's smartest cities at Aljada, the urban mega project located in the heart of Sharjah.

Among the innovations to be introduced at the 24 million square foot development are a sustainability lane for electric vehicles, smart parking, smart solar-powered lighting and ‘circular' offices.

The aim of these initiatives will be to provide residents, workers and visitors to the destination with technology that adds value, improves quality of life, saves money and also supports the environment, Arada said in a statement.

It added that in the early stages of the Aljada Smart City project, Arada's development team will focus on five key areas - mobility, utilities, telecommunications, the ‘circular economy', and waste management.

All these areas will be supported by ultra-secure, high-end digital infrastructure that will be managed centrally within the community.

Arada said it is currently in negotiations with several multinational companies with extensive experience in smart technology and will be announcing new partnerships in the coming months.

In the mobility sphere, Aljada will contain a number of smart technology solutions, including a traffic management system that allows for congestion-free movement around the city; a smart parking app that will allow residents and visitors to reserve spaces at key destinations within the city; and public and private charging stations for electric cars.

In addition, Arada will also introduce a sustainability lane into the road network, which will be reserved for the use of Aljada's internal public transport network of environmentally friendly buses.

Use of these ‘hop-on hop-off' buses will be free of charge for residents and visitors, allowing them to easily navigate their way through the city, and gain easy access to the two main retail boulevards, each 2.2 kilometres long.

This network will be serviced by a series of smart bus stops, which will provide real-time information about the calendar of events happening in the city.

Arada said it will also implement smart solar solutions across public spaces, and in particular in the Central Hub, the leisure and entertainment district in the heart of the project.

The developer is aiming to ensure that the lighting requirements for this area of Aljada is entirely powered by renewable energy.

Arada will also implement hi-tech solutions that will enable municipal teams to track waste levels in individual bins and optimise routes for refuse collection vehicles, a measure that will reduce fleet fuel consumption and improve efficiency.

Arada will also work to develop the ‘circular economy' within the city, providing workers with the option to ‘smart lease' office space, rooms or even workstations based on real-time occupancy data. In addition, a concierge app will provide every service that the city provides - from food delivery to dry cleaning - to each registered resident of Aljada, at no extra cost.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairman of Arada, said: "We have always said that Aljada is a forward-thinking and progressive project, not just for Sharjah, but the whole of the UAE. That is reflected in our smart city plans, which will improve quality of life and reduce environmental impact. We also hope that by testing products in such a large-scale environment, we can contribute positively to the learning process that every city is undergoing around the world."

The latest announcement at Sharjah's largest mixed-use lifestyle destination follows the first infrastructure contract award to BICC Contracting in September, and the first main construction contract award, which was handed to Modern Building Contracting Company in July.

Launched in September 2017 by Sharjah ruler Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Aljada will be delivered in phases starting in 2019, with the entire project is expected to be completed by 2025.